Wednesday, March 7, 2018

The Goalkeeper in Algiers ~ Wednesday, 7 March 2018

Albert to read your books
in the peace and quiet
of the turntable room

Behind a wall of noise
only I can listen
to with my headphones on

Silence beyond it seems
a pantomime of light
against living matter

Underneath my bunker
feeling invisible
I hide inside the gloom

Reading words in English
translated from the French
stealing but a moment

Delving into each book
with relish the sorrow
I stuff down deep inside

Sitting between classes
on campus in Irvine
my first and only year

In college at Irvine
after which I withdrew
as if my mind were gone

Left to read your novels
short stories essays plays
at home like a squatter

Even then my childhood
shrieked at the accident
of my birth and my life

Not until I finished
all the fiction you wrote
did I note a movement

Trapped inside my guts deep
within my abdomen
I felt a hint of pride

Rebel in a punk band
my parents could never
understand the stripped gear

Ever present my car
a four-speed manual
transmission could not reach

Veritably beyond
what was given my mind
could only imagine

Onwards and upward gears
the future would display
along with my hard strife

Long ago I struggled
against conformity
born a stranger to teach

Tomorrow's lost children
how to reclaim their soul
and strive full of passion

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